Arizona Court System Suffers Massive Data Breach, Affecting Over 1 Million People
Cyberattack compromises personal information of over 1.3 million individuals due to a phishing email, with investigations ongoing.
A cyberattack has compromised the personal information of more than 1.3 million individuals whose data was held by Arizona's court system, officials announced Tuesday. The breach is believed to have originated when a court employee clicked a malicious link in a phishing email.
The compromised data includes records of individuals with unpaid court fees, fines, and restitution payments for traffic and criminal violations, with some records dating back as far as 30 years. Additionally, the attackers accessed nearly 30,000 records related to active and inactive orders of protection, and approximately 150,000 reports from a foster care board dating back to 2010.
The Arizona Supreme Court's technology staff detected the intrusion on Sept. 24 and initiated shutdown procedures on a backup server approximately two hours later, effectively containing the attack. The court has since begun notifying all affected individuals.
State Supreme Court spokesperson Alberto Rodriguez stated that there is no current evidence to suggest the stolen information has been used or shared. The ongoing investigation has not revealed any impact on court cases, nor has any court data been altered or deleted. The breach did not involve sensitive information pertaining to jurors, witnesses, or court employees.